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Tyniec Abbey
Benedictine abbey at Tyniec, nowadays on
the western outskirts of Krakow, used to command
the approach to Poland's capital city through the
Vistula river valley. Fortified natural
stronghold atop a steep rocky hill was a hard nut
to crack for the enemy. And, if eventually
captured, the Tyniec Abbey suffered their
revenge. Mongols burnt it down in the 12th,
Swedes in the 17th, and Russians in the 18th
century. Benedictine monks have lived and worked
here otherwise peacefully for nearly a
millennium. For long the learned brothers
provided education to young royalty in addition
to their other numerous labors. Little survived
of the original 11th-century monastery. First it
was replaced by a Gothic structure, next by the
16th-century Renaissance one. And the abbey's
present Baroque church dates back to the early
17th century.
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Krakow
churches
Krakow numerous churches are
architectural gems, art hoards, and spiritual
hubs
Wawel Cathedral
Poland's impressive national shrine
dates from the 14th century and shelters plenty
of superb church art. The Sigismund Chapel is a
masterpiece of the Renaissance art and
architecture. Giant Zygmunt
bell of 1520 ranks with the world's
largest. Most Polish
kings are buried here together with the
greatest national heroes.
Basilica of the
Virgin Mary's
Immense Gothic church, the city of
Krakow's principal temple since the 13th century,
boasts the world's greatest
Gothic sculpture among its many excellent
works of art. Huge stained-glass widows of the
chancel date from the 14th century.
Skalka Sanctuary
Poland’s second holiest shrine at the
site of St. Stanislav’s 1079 martyrdom.
Splendid Baroque church and fine monastery
modeled on a Renaissance castle.
Bielany Monastery
Magnificent 17th-century Baroque
hermitage complex atop the Silver Mountain hovers
over Krakow.
St. Norbert's
Convent
Vast fortified complex on the Vistula
river is home to Krakow’s once powerful
Premonstratensian Sisters since the 12th c.
Sanctuary of the
Lord's Mercy
Humble nun’s visions in the 1930s
gave rise to a world-wide spiritual movement
inside the Catholic Church, ever stronger
nowadays, with the center in her Krakow convent.
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